


How to Survive High School While Hiding the Fact You're A Secret YouTuber

by LightShadowling



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: (Obviously), Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Censored Swearing, F/F, Fluff, Gay Panic, M/M, Mutual Pining, Panic, Panic Attacks (mentioned), Secret Identity, YouTube
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:15:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23165335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LightShadowling/pseuds/LightShadowling
Summary: Virgil is like your average 14 year old. A boy that's been homeschooled his whole life due to his anxiety disorder and has 4.5 million subscribers on YouTube. Now Virgil has to go to public high school. Something he has never been exposed to his entire life. Follow Virgil in this story to find out How to Survive High School While Hiding the Fact You're A Secret YouTuber!
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders, Original Female Character/Original Female Character
Comments: 73
Kudos: 213





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> I'm horrible at titles. I'm sorry. But other than that, enjoy!

Virgil Storm wasn't exactly sure how he got to where he was at this point in his life. 

All he knew was that it all started with a camera.

At the age of 10 years old, Virgil's parents bought him and his younger brother, Dee, the high quality camera they had been asking for for years. Dee had the silly little idea that Virgil should start his own YouTube channel. Virgil was too scared to show his face to possibly millions of people on the internet, so he wore a mask and used voice distortion when he talked. His YouTuber name was Anxiety.

There's one thing you should know about Virgil before continuing. He has a secret talent: Singing. And boy, was he amazing.

At first, Virgil just made covers of songs. That didn't get him very far. He gained about 100 subscribers in 3 months. 

But soon, he wrote his own songs. He made important statements on behalf of others. Drew emotions from people that they didn't know they had.

After that, his channel sky-rocketed. He was gaining thousands of subscribers in a matter of weeks. By the age of 13, Virgil had 3 million subscribers.

And the best part? No one would know it was him.

Now, another thing you should know about Virgil, is that he has an anxiety disorder. Henceforth his YouTuber persona, Anxiety. But anyway, because of that, Virgil was homeschooled his entire life. He saw a therapist once a week. 

But one day in the summer before Virgil's freshman year, Virgil's therapist, Dr. Picani, told him that although he still had his anxiety disorder to some extent, it had improved so immensely that Virgil would be healthy enough to go to public school, if he chose to.

Now, Virgil didn't want to burden his parents any longer than he had to. So he decided to go through with it.

And there he was… standing before the gates of Sanders Public High School.

Virgil Storm, a 14 year old with an anxiety disorder and 4.5 million subscribers on YouTube. 

Who knows what adventures lie ahead for him?


	2. Making Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil meets Patton, and Patton introduces Virgil to some of his closest friends. Virgil finds out what people really think about Anxiety.

“Mx. Stokes, can you please send Patton Hart to my office?”

Virgil stood awkwardly in Mr. Sanders’ (The principal) office. 

“Don’t worry, Mr. Storm, I have an excellent student to show you around today. He will make sure your first day is a wonderful experience. I also made sure he has the same schedule as you so he can show you around.”

“Thank you, Mr. Sanders.”

“It’s my pleasure. We want all our students to feel perfectly accustomed here at Sanders High.”

Then, a boy with glasses, blue eyes, and blonde curly hair entered Mr. Sander’s office. 

“Good morning, Mr. Sanders!”

“Good morning, Patton! Would you do me a favor and show Virgil around today? He wasn’t here for orientation yesterday.”

“Will do, Mr. Sanders!”

And so the two of them were off, walking to their first class of the day.

“So your name is Virgil, huh?”

“Yep.”

“Nice to meet you, Virgil! I’m Patton. But I guess you already knew that, huh?”

“Yep.”

“Can you say anything other than yep?”

Virgil was about to be snarky, but he remembered something his mother told him before he left the house, “Please, at least attempt to make friends, for me?”

Virgil turned to Patton, “Yes.”

“Yay!” Patton exclaimed. “We’re gonna be the best of friends! Just wait until lunch time! I want to introduce you to some of my other closest friends.”

Virgil couldn’t believe this kid. He had met him only a minute ago, and he already thought of Virgil as his best friend. 

“Okay, here’s our first class! We have Language Arts. Aren’t you excited?”

“I guess so.”

“Come on! I’m gonna introduce you to the rest of the class.”

Most of the day went by pretty quickly for Virgil, and he had a better time than he thought he would. He was also ahead academically. Apparently, his homeschool curriculum was a year more advanced than public school’s, so his classes were extremely easy. 

And no one really gave him any trouble yet. Everyone waved to Patton when they   
passed by. Patton was probably really popular. Maybe it’s better if Virgil stays with Patton. Hopefully, no one would pick on him.

Now, the part of the day Virgil most dreaded was here. Lunch time. He had gotten along with Patton so far, (and by gotten along that means Patton trying to start a conversation and Virgil just responding with one word answers) but meeting Patton’s friends might change that. What if his friends don’t like Virgil? What if he says something to offend them? 

Patton ripped Virgil from his own thoughts.

“Virgil, I’d like you to meet my friends, Roman and Logan!”

The boy, supposedly called Roman looked at Virgil for a second and then responded to Patton.

“Who’s this, and what is he doing at our table?”

That statement was like a boulder to Virgil’s stomach. He hadn’t even said a word, and Patton’s friends already hated him. 

“I already told you, this is Virgil, he’s a new student that I’ve been showing around, and he’s my new friend and I want him to sit with us! I hope that’s cool!”

“Curse you and your adorable smile, Patton!”

“Yay!”

Virgil and Patton sat down.

“So, Virgil was it? Why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself?” The kid called Logan asked.

“Um, well, I’ve been homeschooled all my life. I love all forms of art. I have a brother in sixth grade,” Virgil told them. “Yeah, that’s it. I’m pretty boring,” Virgil lied.

“Thanks for sharing, kiddo!” Patton said gratefully.

“Okay, now that introductions are out of the way, I have big news! Anxiety is finally going to vidcon this year!”

Virgil choked on the water he was drinking.

"Whoa, are you good, fahm?" Logan said. He turned to Roman. "Was I correct in my usage?"

"Close enough."

"Yeah, I think I'm good."

Virgil was shocked that people in his hometown watch his videos. And kids his age, nonetheless.

“Anyway, he said in his last video that his mother was finally letting him go to vidcon since he’s in high school now! Can you believe it? We’re the exact same age as Anxiety. I bet he’s so hot under that mask. Do you guys think I would have a shot with him if we met at vidcon?”

“Not a chance!” A random girl shouted as she passed their table.

Roman stood and shouted back, “Shut up, Mikayla! No one asked you!”

“Well, you automatically include me in your conversation if you’re talking about MY boyfriend!” The girl named Mikayla shouted again.

“He’s not your boyfriend!”

“He is. He just doesn’t know it yet.”

Virgil couldn’t help but blush. They were talking about him after all. But he realized that if they knew it was him under that mask, they might be disappointed. 

“Hey, kid!” Roman shouted at Virgil.

“Me?” Virgil questioned.

“Yeah, you. Do you know about Anxiety?” Roman asked. “Depending on your answer, I may ask you to leave.”

“You mean the disorder, or the YouTuber? Cause I’m familiar with both.” Virgil said, only half-joking.

“I like you now,” Roman said.

“Thank you?” Virgil said, which came out as more of a question than a statement.

“Yay! My three boys are getting along!” Patton happily announced.

“So, please tell me you two are coming to vidcon with me to meet him. Oh, and I guess, Virgil, you can come too.”

“Of course we’ll come! Right, Logan?”

“Yes, I’d be happy to attend. And even if I had said no, I’m almost positive you would have forced me to come anyway.”

“Splendid! And you, dark and dreary?”

“Nice nickname. Also, pleasant as that sounds, I never like to meet my heroes. It makes me feel less than,” Virgil said.

Virgil thought it would be harder to come up with a cover up story because he gets super anxious when he lies. But surprisingly, it was easy. Mostly because he didn’t have to lie.

“Look, normally I wouldn’t do this for someone I just met, but you’re Patton’s friend, so I’ll make an exception,” Roman started. “How about I buy you a ticket, and you hang out with us until we go to Anxiety’s panel?”

“You don’t have to buy-”

“You a ticket? B*tch, please. I’m loaded.”

Virgil sighed. For someone who seemed to have hated him about a minute ago, Roman sure seemed persistent on having him come to vidcon.

“Fine.”

“Yay! We’re all going to vidcon together!”

“You guys are going to vidcon? Same!” said another girl who approached their table.

“Monica! Do you want to come with us?” Patton asked.

“Sweet! When are we heading over?” Monica asked.

Virgil felt so overwhelmed. All of this was happening so quickly. He already had plans on going to vidcon with his family. Now he has to go with a human robot, a literal ball of sunshine, an overly cocky neanderthal, and a girl whose personality he hadn’t deciphered yet.

“I’ll have my driver pick us up in my dad’s limo next Monday. I’m gonna create a group chat with all of us so you can text me your addresses so he can pick you up. Kay? Virgil, can I have your number?” Roman asked.

That took Virgil from his thoughts.

“Wow, are you coming on to me, Princey?” Virgil asked slyly.

Roman became flustered, “I-I uh, um, what?”

Monica put one of her arms around Roman, “Wow, Ro. I’ve never seen you flustered before. Nice one, Virgil.”

“Oh, be quiet.”

“Wait, I’m confused. Princey?” Patton questioned.

“Yeah. His last name is Prince, right?”

“How’d you know that? Are you my creepy stalker or something?”

“Or something. It was honestly pretty obvious. All throughout chemistry, whenever Mr. Demayo yelled at you, he called you Prince.”

Logan spoke, “Hmm, Virgil, you must have quite the observation skills.”

“Also, his dad owns a limo. So I guess it just seemed fitting.”

“Fair enough,” Monica said frankly.

“Guys! Back on track! Vidcon! Virgil, number!” Roman demanded.

“Okay, jeez,” Virgil said as he typed his number into Roman’s phone.

“Thank you.”

"No problem."

Then the bell rang. 

"Oh, no! The warning bell! We should hurry, Virgil. Our next class is on the other side of the school!" Patton warned.

"Okay. Well, it was nice meeting you all."

"You as well, Virgil," Logan said.

"Yeah, you seem like a pretty cool dude," Monica said.

"Thanks," Virgil said as he gave them all a two-fingered salute and left the room with Patton.

Well, at least Virgil was making friends, that was a plus. His mom would be proud. But then again, he has to ditch her and the rest of his family to hang out with them so… maybe he should’ve come up with an excuse.

‘Nah,’ Virgil thought to himself. ‘I should let myself have this one.’

“So, are you having a good time so far today, kiddo?” Patton asked.

Virgil gave a small smile to Patton, and said, “Yep.”

Patton smiled widely in response and the two boys continued to walk to class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoyed! Get ready for next chapter, cause they be goin to vidcon!


	3. Vidcon (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil's brother helps to come up with a plan for Virgil. The five friends arrive at vidcon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if any of the information is wrong, I've never been to vidcon before. Enjoy!

“So, let me get this straight.”

It was Monday, the day of vidcon. Dee Storm, Virgil’s brother, was talking with him in Virgil and Dee’s bedroom after Virgil explained the events from school to him.

“Good luck with that,” Virgil replied.

“Ha,” Dee said blandly.

“Continue.”

“Yes, so you’re telling me that some random kid made friends with you one minute after you met…”

“Uh huh.”

“And he introduced you to his friends that just happen to be big fans of Anxiety…”

“Yep.”

“And they invited you to go to vidcon with them for free…” 

Virgil nodded.

“And they’re bringing you there in a limo?!”

“Basically, yeah.”

“What are you gonna do?! What are you gonna tell mom?! She’s been planning this for months!”

“I know!” Virgil exclaimed as he plopped down on his bed.

Dee walked over to Virgil’s bed and stood over him.

“Virgil, pull yourself together. I’ll explain everything to mom for you, okay?”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

“Ugh! You’re three years younger than me yet you’re still more mature!”

“Well, the situation could go one of two ways. One, she says she’s proud of you for making friends and lets you go with them, which is the more probable solution in my opinion, or two, she disowns you.”

“WHAT?!”

“Relax, I’m joking. Seriously, she’ll be totally cool with it.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“Well, I know I’m right. Now, to come up with a perfect plan for you when you get to vidcon.”

Dee pulled out a large rolling whiteboard from behind his bed.

“You know what? Do you mind telling mom and mama? I’ve gotta come up with a plan for you. Give me like, five minutes.”

“Uh…”

“Relax, you’ll be fine.”

“If you say so.”

Virgil hesitantly walked towards his parents’ office, where they were already currently having a conversation. Virgil didn’t want to interrupt, so he just leaned against the door and eavesdropped. Virgil’s mom, Ella, was sitting at her desk at the left side of the room. Her side of the room was painted pastel pink and she had pictures of her family all over her desk. She also had a rainbow flag pinned to her wall. Virgil’s mama, Rebecca, was sitting at her desk on the right side of the room. Her side of the room was painted pastel blue and she had awards all over her desk along with a larger, framed picture of her family hanging on the wall. She also had a blue, pink, and purple flag pinned to her wall. Both of them were sitting in their swivel chairs facing each other.

“I’m just worried for him,” Ella said with care in her voice.

“We don’t need to worry. Virgil is a capable young man,” Rebecca said proudly.

“Of course I know that. It’s just, he only agreed to go to school because he didn’t want to burden us. We shouldn’t have made him feel pressured if he wasn’t ready,” Ella said guiltily.

Rebecca walked over to her wife to comfort her. She placed her arm around Ella.

“You know that Virgil tells us about everything. If he didn’t feel comfortable at school, or if someone was giving him trouble, he’d tell us. But, if it would make you feel any better, we can ask him how he feels about his current situation,” Rebecca consoled.

“Okay, you’re right. But, can we still ask him?”

“Certainly. Should we do it now?”

“Yeah! That’d be great!”

Virgil started to panic as he heard footsteps coming towards the door. He realized it was too late to try to run away. Instead, he held his fist up to the door as if he were knocking.

Then, Virgil’s parents opened the door.

“Good morning, Mom, Mama. I was just about to knock. Just now. Right before you opened the door.”

“Oh, well, we have something we want to tell you, Virgil,” Rebecca said.

“Same here,” Virgil replied.

“Come on into our office, Virge,” Ella offered. “You can sit in my chair.”

Virgil entered his parents’ office and got himself settled in.

“So Virge, we were just wondering if you’re settling well into school,” Ella started.

“That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about-”

Ella cut him off, “Because for the past week you’ve seemed a bit quiet.”

“Yeah, that’s because I didn’t want you to be mad about-”

“And we’ve decided that if you don’t like school we don’t want to pressure you into-”

“Oh, for the love of pearl, Ella! Just let the boy speak!” Rebecca exclaimed.

Ella blushed and said, “Oh, I didn’t realize… I’m sorry, Virge. Please continue.”

“I made a group a friends last week, and-”

“Virgil, we’re so proud of you… and I’ll stop interrupting now,” Ella said.

“So anyway, they’re fans of Anxiety,” Virgil continued.

“Oof. Did that make it uncomfortable for you?” Rebecca asked.

“Kind of. Especially when one of the kids said, ‘I bet he’s so hot under that mask’.”

“If only that kid knew it was you. Maybe you’d be dating by now,” Ella stated.

Virgil’s face grew red. “Mom!”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to assume. Pronouns?”

Virgil hesitated before telling her, “He/him. But don’t get excited, it’s never gonna happen. I don’t want people to know I’m Anxiety or else they’ll just use me and not treat me as a real friend. Besides, he’s extremely egotistical and cocky.”

“So was Remy,” Rebecca pointed out.

Somehow, Virgil’s face got even redder. “I thought we agreed we wouldn’t speak of that again!” Virgil said angrily.

Then, a loud voice rang out from down the hall.

“She got you there, Virge!” Dee shouted.

“No one asked you!” Virgil shouted back. “And shouldn’t you be working on our plan?!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Dee said dismissively.

Ella and Rebecca took confused glances at each other.

“Plan? What plan?” Rebecca finally asked.

“That’s what I came here to talk to you about. My new friends invited me to vidcon. One of them is even buying me a ticket. And we’re going there in a limo. I was hesitant to tell you because mom had already made plans for the four of us to go together and I was worried-”

“Breathe, Virgil. It’s okay,” Ella said in a calming voice.

“I just don’t want you to disown me!” Virgil exclaimed with a tremble in his voice.

Ella and Rebecca looked at each other, worried. Rebecca said, “Who ever gave you that idea?”

Virgil looked on the verge of tears, “Dee did. But it’s okay, you shouldn’t blame him! He told me he was kidding but I took it seriously.”

Ella put a hand on Virgil’s shoulder. “It’s okay that you don’t want him to get into trouble, but he should know by now that your anxiety takes things a little more seriously.”

“I know. But he didn’t mean any harm,” Virgil said softly. 

Virgil stood up and walked towards the doorway. 

“Dee’s coming up with a plan so I can be Anxiety in the panel and go there with my friends.”

“Virge!” Dee shouted from down the hall. “I’m done! Bring our moms in here!”

“Cool!” Virgil shouted at Dee. He turned to his parents. “Let’s go.”

And so the three of them walked into Dee and Virgil’s bedroom to find Dee’s whiteboard labeled “Virgil’s super awesome epic master scheme to fool his friends so they won’t know what hit them (Dee came up with this plan cause he’s the awesomest)”. On the whiteboard was also an intricate chart with categories labeled Phases 1-5. Virgil and his moms observed this as they walked over to Virgil’s bed to have a seat. 

“Dee… you really need work on your titles,” Virgil said.

Dee looked at the whiteboard admirably. “I don’t see anything wrong with it.” He paused. “Titles aside, let me discuss the plan. I have separated it into five parts.”

“Five? Isn’t that a bit excessive?” Rebecca questioned.

Ella looked at her, “Eh, as long as it works.”

Dee cleared his throat, “As I was saying, here’s how it’s gonna work…”

____________________

“Here we are! Vidcon, guys! Vidcon! We did it! We’re here! We made it!”

“Guys, I don’t think Roman’s excited enough,” Virgil said in a monotone voice.

They all laughed.

“Nice one, Virge,” Monica said.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up now, but you’ll all be thanking me when we’re speaking face-to-face with Anxiety!”

“Yes, but not really. He’ll still be wearing his mask,” Logan said, smirking.

Virgil snickered.

Roman walked up to Logan and looked him dead in the eyes. He said, “You can take away my ideas all you want, but you cannot. Take. Away. My. SPIRITS!”

Then Roman ran away, chuckling like a mad man.

“He does know I have the map, right?” Patton asked.

“Yeah, he’s probably just still high on candy from the limo,” Monica said.

Logan looked at his watch and stated, “He’ll be back in three, two, one-”

“Guys! What are you waiting for?! No time to waste! The animators panel is happening in thirty minutes!” Roman shouted.

“Well, first of all, we were waiting for you. And second, thirty minutes is plenty of time,” Virgil said.

“Not if we want decent snacks it’s not!” Roman looked at the map. “This way to the food court!” He announced, pointing to the right and walking away.

Monica took a swift glance at the map and shouted at him, “No it’s not!”

“I knew that!” Roman exclaimed as he walked back in the other direction.

As soon as Roman was out of earshot, Virgil said, “Does he have an inside voice?”

“No he does not, my friend,” Patton said putting an arm around Virgil. “But that’s why he’s so great!”

The four of them started walking so they could catch up with Roman.

“Great isn’t the word I’d use,” Monica said, chuckling. 

“At least he’s not as bad as his brother,” Logan stated.

“True dat,” Monica replied.

“Who’s Roman’s brother?” Virgil asked.

“Well, Remus is Roman’s twin brother and he’s… well...” Patton started.

“Don’t ask, just thank the Lord you haven’t met him yet,” Logan finished.

“Don’t say that!” Patton said to Logan. “Remus just has his, well, creative differences.”

Monica and Logan both turned Patton.

“Last time we went to Roman’s house to watch a movie Remus thought it would be funny to replace the DVD for Despicable Me for the DVD of Roman and Remus’ birth. And he stole the remote and locked us in the basement so we had to watch it. That day made me emotionally scarred,” Monica said.

“Also, the first time we went to Roman’s house and we rang the doorbell, it was Remus who opened the door. He was eating deodorant and offered us some and wouldn’t take no for an answer,” Logan said.

“That seems messed up.”

“Yeah, I guess so. But, let’s not talk about that now! We’re at vidcon! Let’s enjoy it!” Patton exclaimed.

Next thing the four of them knew Roman was sprinting back towards them.

“Guys, did you see this poster?!” Roman basically yelled at them.

Patton took it from Roman and took a good look at it.

“Oh yeah, this is about Anxiety and Viv’s panel, right?” Patton questioned.

Viv is also a famous YouTuber that has a lot of the same content as Virgil’s. She and Virgil even collabed on a few projects since they live in the same town. Except she doesn’t wear a mask.

“Yeah, but read this part!” Roman said pointing to a spot on the poster.

“Oh? Sleep is in Anxiety’s panel too?” Patton asked.

“WHAT?!”

“I know, right? I wasn’t quite expecting it myself, but that’s such an amazing surprise! I mean, as much as I hate to admit it since I think me and Anxiety would be perfect together, I do low-key ship Sleep and Anxiety.”

“I NEED TO USE THE BATHROOM!”

“Okay, kiddo. This map says there’s a bathroom right around the corner. Are- are you okay?” Patton asked.

“YES, PERFECTLY FINE, THANKS!” Virgil said once more as he disappeared around the corner. 

When Virgil entered the bathroom, he felt a little relief in the fact that no one was in there. He immediately began to calm himself down before he went into a full-blown out panic attack. Once he calmed down, he called Viv and started freaking out again. After the third tone, she picked up.

“Yo, Virge. What’s up? I thought you hated talking over the phone.”

“I do but desperate times call for desperate measures,” Virgil said angrily.

“What’s going on?”

“It seems that someone forgot to mention that Remy was going to be in our panel.”

“Look, Virgil, when I found that out, you had already told me you were coming, and I didn’t want it to dissuade you.”

“You’re lucky I came here with my friends, or else I would’ve convinced my parents to drive me home.”

“Listen. I know you’re angry. And you have every right to be. But you should remember, that before you and Remy started dating, the three of us were the best of friends. What if things went back to the way they were before?”

Virgil sighed, “I know you’re right. I’ll try. For you.”

“Thanks, Virge.”

“No prob, Viv.”

Virgil heard the door to the bathroom open. It was Patton. 

“I’m gonna have to let you go now,” Virgil said quickly.

“...Okay, b-”

“Bye!” Virgil hung up quickly.

“Hiya, kiddo! Are you… feeling okay?” Patton asked.

“Yeah, actually,” Virgil responded and smiled sincerely. 

Patton smiled so widely that it was blinding. “That’s great to hear, kiddo.”

Roman stuck his head in the door, “Sorry for eavesdropping, but now that everything’s cool, we should head over to the animator’s panel so we’re not late.”

“Come on, Virge,” Patton said.

“I’m right behind you.”

As the five of them started walking over to the panel, Virgil felt a buzz in his pocket. He took out his phone and read the text.

Dee: Time for phase one.

Virgil smirked and started typing back.

Virgil: Initiating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all made it through, congratulations! Oh yeah, I'll probably put in some Remy disposition in the next chapter, though you all can probably assume who he is.


	4. Vidcon (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil meets with his two YouTuber friends and has a little chat. (I'm sorry I just can't do summaries.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, I've decided to make vidcon into three parts, because this chapter got so long so.... yeah! Enjoy!

Virgil: Initiating.

Virgil stuck his phone back in his pocket and looked around. The room Dee told him he needed to get ready in was on the other side of the building. This place was so much larger than Virgil anticipated. What If he gets lost?

Then, Virgil felt another buzz coming from his pocket. 

Dee: Something tells me your anxiety's spiking without this. You're welcome ;)   
One image attached

Dee sent a picture of the map of the building with red sharpie lines shading in the path Virgil needed to take to get there. It's like Dee could read his mind. He knows Virgil too well.

Virgil: Thanks, dude.

Dee: No prob, Bob.

Virgil: …It's Virgil.

Virgil shoved his phone back into his pocket and decided to finally tell the other four.

“Hey, guys?”

Patton, Logan, and Monica stopped and turned to Virgil. Roman, however, continued walking in hopes of Virgil's voice just being in his head.

“What's up, kiddo?” Patton asked.

Roman groaned and finally turned around. “So close!”

“Depression rates, but that's besides the point,” Virgil started. “I just got a text from my parents saying that they were here. They said they wanted to share this experience with my brother and I,” Virgil said, acting annoyed.

“Sorry to interrupt, but it's 'me and my brother' since me would be the object of the preposition, not I,” Logan said smugly.

“Logan… shut the f*ck up and let the emo nightmare finish so we can get to the animators panel before NEXT WEEK!”

Patton gasped, “Language!”

“English!” Roman shouted back.

“Guys! Let me finish!” They all grew quiet and Virgil continued, “I'm going to have to go to meet up with my parents.”

“Aw, what?” Monica said, disappointed.

“I’ll try to convince them to let me leave with you guys. Maybe we can meet back here after- who’s panel was it that you guys really wanted to see?”

“WHAT?! Your kidding, right? Anxiety, Viv, and now Sleep? The best YouTubers of our time? You said you watched them!"

"Oh yeah, them," Virgil said.

Virgil was doing a convincing job if he could say so himself.

"Virgil, you should go to your family if they're expecting you," Logan said.

"Thanks for understanding, dudes. I'll be back soon."

"Bye, Virge! See you on the flippity flop!" Monica said.

"Bye!" Virgil said as he walked away.

Roman turned to Monica with confusion. "Wait what? Who says that?"

"I do. Everyone does." Monica replied.

“No one says that,” Roman said.

“It'll catch on.”

Meanwhile, Virgil was running through the halls of the building, trying to get to the room where him, Viv, and Remy would get ready. He knew Dee would be ready for him with his mask, his voice distortion, and a change of clothes, so that thought settled him a little. But then he thought about how he would have to talk and sing in front of a bunch of people. And he started freaking out again. When he made videos, it didn’t really come across to him as singing in front of a bunch of people, since most of the time he was just in his room with a couple cameras, a microphone, and lighting equipment.

Virgil was pulled out of his anxious thoughts when he realized he made it to the room. He mentally prepared himself to face Remy before entering. Remy's channel started out with Starbucks reviews. He later started doing singing as well, and once he realized he got way more publicity off of that, he made more of those videos instead. (Don't worry, he still makes Starbucks videos.) He's also Virgil's ex-boyfriend.

Viv, Remy, and Dee were talking in the center of the room about… Starbucks, of course. 

Viv was the first to acknowledge Virgil’s appearance.

She gasped, “Virgie!” And then tackle hugged him to the ground. “I haven’t seen you in person in like, forever!”

“Viv, it’s only two months since our last collab project,” Virgil said.

“I know! That’s forever! We legit live in the same town! Why don’t we see each other more often?!” Viv demanded.

“Okay, we can hang out more.”

“Yay-!”

“As long as it’s not in public.”

“...Boo!”

“Hey, don’t be upset with Virgil, Viv. This is why we broke up in the first place,” Remy entered the conversation. Then he turned to Virgil, “How are we supposed to date if I can’t even treat you to a nice meal in a restaurant?! I’m sorry for wanting to flaunt my extremely hot boyfriend out in public!”

Viv smirked, “Did you just call Virgil extremely hot?”

Remy’s face grew red. “Shut up!”

“If I go out with you guys in public, people might guess who I am,” Virgil said quietly.

“So what?!” Remy exclaimed frustrated. “You’re already on YouTube with 4.5 million subs! If people knew who you were, the only difference would be that maybe a couple people would come up to you once in a while to ask for a picture! Big whoop!”

Then, Virgil mumbled something unintelligible.

“What was that, Virge?” Viv asked softly.

“W-what if everyone secretly hates me?! I’ve looked at the comments, guys! I promise you, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows in there!” Virgil said, tears slowly streaming down his face. You could tell he was trying to restrain from bawling his eyes out.

Remy felt guilty now. He shouldn’t have pressured that information out of him. He knows Virgil can’t help his anxiety, yet he got angry with him anyway. He did the thing he promised himself he wouldn’t do.

“Aw, Virge…” Viv said as she wrapped her arms around Virgil.

“Storm Cloud, I’m sorry,” Remy said softly as he did the same.

“Please don’t call me that.”

“Virgil, don’t read those hate comments! There are so many people out there who love your work and how dedicated you are! Pay attention to those people. They love you for you… also please stop crying, you’re making me cryyyyyyyyyyy!” Viv said and then burst into tears.

“Virgil, I’m sorry! I was just being selfish and I was frustrated! If you’re not comfortable going out with us in public, then we should respect that! Even if we don’t like it!” Then Remy burst into tears.

“No, I’m sorry! I shouldn’t care about what others think as much as I do!” Virgil said. 

In that moment, Virgil let his guard down all the way. The three YouTubers sitting there on the floor hugging, while uncontrollably crying. At that moment, Dee walked back in the room. He opened his mouth to speak, but after seeing them like that, he slowly backed away. He didn’t like icky, human emotions. 

Eventually, the three wiped their tears away and stood up. 

“Gurl, that was so out of character for me.” He pushed his sunglasses up the crook of his nose. “I need to be cool again, where’s my pumpkin spice latte? Where the f*ck, is my pumpkin spice latte?”

“And… he’s back,” Viv said, annoyed.

“It’s over here,” Virgil said, picking up the Starbucks cup off the chair behind him.

“Thank goodness. Gimme,” Remy demanded.

“Nope. You gotta say please,” Virgil said, holding the cup high above his head.

Remy is way shorter than Virgil. Even when he jumped, Remy still couldn’t reach the cup.   
While Virgil tried to stop Remy from reaching his precious latte, he remembered a time when the two of them were dating. 

Their first kiss, specifically. It was extremely awkward, but funny at the same time. Remy stood on his tip toes as Virgil bent down slowly, but Remy lost his balance. Virgil caught him right before he fell. He moved in and placed a lingering kiss on Remy’s lips before they both stood up. What they didn’t know was that Dee was recording the whole thing and he still uses it as blackmail to this day. Good times.

Wait… has Remy been talking this whole time?

“-Virgil! I already said please! I’m gonna have a huge caffeine withdrawal! And what are you smirking about?”

“Nothing. Just remembering our first kiss.”

Remy’s face grew red again. “Ugh. Don’t remind me-YAY!” (If you couldn’t tell Virgil gave him back his latte.)

“I wonder if Dee still has the recording,” Virgil paused. “Hey Dee!”

“What do you want? Have you stopped crying yet? I don’t like emotions,” Dee said as he walked into the room.

“Yeah, I was just wondering if you still had that video of our first kiss,” He gestured to Remy.

Dee smirked in a way that made Virgil regret asking that question.

“As a matter of fact, I do. Say, Virgil… do you know if mom and mama have seen it yet? You know… I don’t think they have!” Dee said excitedly.

“Oof. He just went there,” Viv said, intrigued. 

“Dee… you better not!” 

“Oh, sorry, Virge. I think I hear mama calling me from next door. What a coincidence, huh?” After his statement, Dee sprinted out of the room and locked the door behind him.

Virgil groaned. “Sometimes, I really hate that kid.” He paused. “Welp, I have about five minutes til my inevitable doom.”

“Virgil can I talk to you about… us?” Remy asked softly.

“Woah, you said that without any sass or sarcasm? You must be serious.”

“Yeah. Listen…” Remy started.

“I know we made up, but I don’t think we should date anymore,” Remy and Virgil said at the same time.

“Woah,” Viv said, astonished. 

“Oh, thank goodness,” Virgil said breathlessly.

“Yeah, I feel better now,” Remy said.

“Friends?” They both asked at the same time.

They both laughed. “Gurl, you know it,” Remy replied as he sipped his Starbucks.

“YAY! YOU’RE FRIENDS AGAIN! FINALLY!” Viv exclaimed.

Viv pulled the two of them into a group hug. They enjoyed the moment and just rested in each others’ embrace. Well, that is, until-

“Virgil, what?! You didn’t tell me you were so slick!” Rebecca exclaimed as she burst through the doorway.

“Yeah, just do that with that boy you mentioned from school, and you’ll be set for your high school career!” Ella said.

“What boy?” Viv and Remy asked simultaneously. But not in a curious way, no. In a teasing way.

Virgil felt his face heat up. He hasn’t felt more embarrassed than he was at that moment. 

“Mom, for the last time. I don’t like him. I’ve only known him for a week,” Virgil explained.

“What’s his name?” Remy asked.

“Like I’d ever tell you-!”

“It’s Roman,” Dee interrupted. 

“What?! How’d you know that?” Virgil questioned.

“I have my sources,” Dee stated smugly.

“Roman… I’ll remember that name,” Remy said.

“Noooo. No, no, no, no, no,” Virgil said.

“What’s wrong, Virge?” Viv asked ‘innocently’. 

“What’s wrong, is that you guys are going to force me into a relationship that I don’t even want!” Virgil exclaimed.

“Virgil, we won’t do that… I can’t internet stalk him without his last name,” Remy explained.

“Is he here right now?” Viv asked excitedly.

“N-” Virgil started.

“Yes,” Dee cut off.

“Dee, you are seriously digging your own grave,” Virgil threatened. 

Dee just smirked and walked out of the room.

“So, what does he look like?” Viv asked.

Virgil groaned and started blushing again. “Why?”

“I just want to know. Please? If you answer this question, I won’t ask you anything ever again,” Viv pleaded.

“I sincerely doubt it, but okay.” Virgil paused to think. “His height is about mine. He has swift, auburn hair. You know, the kind that you can just run your hand through, and it’ll go back to normal. He has piercing green eyes, and he always wears his bright red jacket. He’s also a total theatre geek. I mean, I’ve only known him for a week so I don’t know if he’s actually talented, but he looks like he would be. He calls me an emo nightmare and his voice is so…” Virgil drifted off when he looked down and realized his friends were staring at him and smirking.

“Dude, you’ve got it bad,” Viv said, her grin even wider.

“Now that’s the tea, sis,” Remy said. “Hmm, I guess that’s why you wanted to just be friends.”

“First of all, that’s not why. Second, I do not have a crush on him. Third, why would I? He’s loud, obnoxious, and egotistical,” Virgil said. 

“So is Remy,” Viv stated.

Remy opened his mouth to protest but just closed it and shrugged in a way that said, ‘It’s true.’ Right then, Rebecca came barreling into the room.

“That’s what I said!” She exclaimed. Then she ran over to the three of them and gave Viv a high five before leaving the room once more.

Virgil shoved his face in his hands to stop his friends from seeing how red his face was.

“Where are your guys’ parents? How come they aren’t here to embarrass you guys?” Virgil asked as he felt the heat from his face die down.

“I told my parents they weren’t allowed back here,” Viv stated.

“Same,” Remy replied.

“Curses!” Virgil exclaimed.

“Besides, Virge, you’re doing a good enough job of embarrassing yourself already!” Remy said, teasing Virgil.

“Ugh! For the last time, I don’t have a crush on him!” Virgil exclaimed.

“Lies!” Shouted Dee from the next room over.

“Says you!” Virgil shouted back.

Just then, a security guard came into the room and informed the three of them that they had twenty minutes left to prepare before they went on. They practiced the song they were planning to perform once more and Virgil did a couple grounding exercises to calm himself down so he wasn’t a total nervous wreck on stage. Then, Dee reminded Virgil to change his clothes now.

“Wait, why do you need to change your clothes?” Viv asked.

“I came here with my friends, so they’d recognize me,” Virgil explained.

“Gotcha,” Remy said in reply.

“So… can you guys turn around so I can get changed?” Virgil asked.

“Eh, I don’t feel like it,” Remy said with a smirk.

“Don’t worry, Virge. I’ll turn around because I’m a good friend,” Viv said as she turned around.

“Come on, Rem, please?” Virgil asked, biting his lip, a light blush dusting his cheeks.

“Ugh, fine,” Remy said, acting annoyed. 

After Virgil got changed and activated his voice distortion, he told his two companions they could turn around.

“How do I look?” Virgil asked.

“Forget about that babes, your voice is so sexy! I forgot what that sounded like.”

Viv rolled her eyes at Remy’s statement. “You look great, Virge.”

“Thanks,” Virgil replied.

“Sorry to interrupt, you three, but you’re on in two minutes,” A security guard said.

“Thanks for the update, Bob,” Viv said.

“Eh, I’m getting paid for this, so don’t mention it,” Bob(?) replied.

Virgil looked at the ground and took a deep breath. This is the first time he’s ever performed live. What if he messes up? What if everyone laughs? What if-

“Virgil, everything’s going to be okay. You’re gonna be great,” Viv reassured. 

Virgil took another breath. “Yeah, yeah I know.”

The three of them then looked up at the sound of their names being announced. It was time. 

“You ready, gurl?” Remy asked Virgil.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Also, for those of you who read my other fic, yes I made the same joke twice and I don't regret it. Also also, for Monica (totally not because I've been trying to get that phrase going for a long time and it never caught on,) let's try to get 'see you on the flippity flop' to catch on! Pass it on to your friends! Also also also, I just realized that I forgot to mention that Remy doesn't wear a mask. You probably inferred that, but I just wanted to make it clear.


	5. Vidcon (Part 3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil finishes up his day at vidcon. But will he get away without anyone knowing his true identity?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this took so long, guys. I was feeling extremely uninspired for a while, but for the past week, I've really doubled down on this chapter and I'm really happy with the end results. I hope you enjoy it!

As Virgil stepped on the stage, he was at first taken aback by the blinding lights. The crowd erupted into applause. He saw Remy and Viv in front of him waving to the crowd, so he mimicked their action. Once they reached center stage, they each picked up a microphone waiting for them. They waited until the claps and “woos” died down before speaking.

“How are you guys doing today?” Viv asked enthusiastically as the crowd erupted into applause once more.

“We’ve got some exciting things planned for you!” Virgil added.

“First, we’re going to perform the first-ever song we all collabed on. Then, we’re going to answer some of your questions while sitting in the chairs over yonder,” Remy stopped talking for a second to gesture to the chairs, “and finally, we will get a chance to meet some of you guys in person in a separate room, you know, take a picture, give autographs, all the works.”

“Okay, time for our performance,” Virgil stated.

Viv cut in, “Not so fast my dude.” Virgil looked over at Viv, confused. “Hey everyone! Our friend Anxiety here has been reading some of his hate comments. Now, Sleep and I over here have already tried to tell him how awesome he is, but what do you all think?”

Now the crowd was cheering even louder than it was before when they all entered. Virgil gave a small smile from behind his mask. He was really grateful for Viv and her attempts to make him feel better. He was also happy now that he and Remy have made up. The fact that multiple genuinely good things were happening to him all at once was enough to push aside his anxiety for the time being. 

“Thank you guys so much! It means the world to me,” Virgil responded. 

The applause was dying down once more, but before it did completely, a random voice from the crowd shouted out a little louder above the rest. Virgil thought the voice sounded somewhat familiar.

“I love you, Anxiety!” The stranger shouted.

“Um, I love you too, random stranger from the crowd!” Virgil shouted back.

Viv and Remy burst out laughing. “I guess you’ve developed a fanboy club ever since you came out as gay,” Viv said.

Remy stopped laughing. “Hey, wait a minute, what about me?” The crowd started laughing. “Nah babes, I’m serious.”

“We know,” Virgil said as he rolled his eyes.

“I mentioned I’m gay too, right?” Remy said, seeking attention.

“Way too often,” Viv replied. A couple more snickers were heard coming from the crowd. “And? Your point?”

“Why aren’t any guys flocking to me?” Remy asked. “Is it the mask? Do I need a mask? I promise you, if it means more boys, I will get a mask. Though, hiding away this face would be criminal,” Remy said as he ran a hand through his hair.

Although Remy didn’t notice, Viv stood next to him making a gagging face. The crowd snickered again and Remy turned to look at her. Viv stopped making her gesture and looked around, trying to act unsuspicious.

“Hardy har har. Very funny,” Remy said.

Viv stifled a giggle before speaking, “Like your face.” The crowd erupted into a combination of laughter and ‘oh!’s. Even Viv couldn’t control her laughter. “I’m sorry, Sleep! It was just too perfect a set-up,” She said between giggles.

“Why you little-” Remy started.

“Okay, let’s not get caught up in another fight,” Virgil started. His eyes widened. “War flashbacks to the mustache eraser battle of 2018.”

The crowd erupted into laughter once more. Virgil was honestly surprised that a lot of his viewers were around since then. He remembered that day and sighed.

“Good times,” Virgil said wistfully.

“No! It wasn’t! You and Viv teamed up against me!” Remy shouted.

Now it was Viv’s turn to sigh, “Like he said, good times.” The crowd laughed again.

“Gurl, you know what? Can we start this performance now? I am this close to yeeting myself into the crowd,” Remy said. The crowd cheered. “Oh, now you all want me, huh? Too late!”

“Okay, we’re gonna get started with the song now. We actually have a pre-recorded track playing of the instruments, so we won’t be playing them live today," Virgil explained.

"Y'all ready?!" Viv exclaimed.

The crowd breaking into applause again was a sign that they were all indeed ready for the awesomeness that was about to be bestowed upon them.

The track of instruments started playing and the three YouTubers on stage started getting ready to sing along with it. The first lines of the song were Viv’s and she immediately got into the flow of the melody and swung her hips to the beat. She gave a wink into the crowd, at what looked like a specific person, and did a hair flip before Virgil’s turn to sing. Virgil did a less flashy approach and just tucked his bangs behind his ear while singing and after, gripped both his hands on the microphone and tilted the stand downwards. Next it was Remy’s part, and he was singing a rap. He took the microphone off the stand and walked to the edge of the stage right in front of the crowd and started spitting fire. (You know, as all you cool kids probably say these days.) As Remy’s part ended, they all started to sing the chorus as a harmony. Remy sang as the baritone part, Virgil sang the alto part, and Viv sang soprano. The song pretty much went like that the whole way through. At the end, all three of them held a soft note in perfect harmony and the crowd broke into applause. 

“Thank you so much, you guys!” Viv said.

“It means so much to us that you’re here today supporting us,” Virgil continued.

“Yes, yes. I know I’m amazing!” Remy said. “Shall we sit over yonder and answer questions now?”

“Yeah, let’s do it,” Virgil said.

As the three of them sat down and started answering questions, Virgil realized he wasn’t even anxious anymore. He smiled again, answering questions as they came to pass, some he was used to hearing, others surprised him. Then again, he was used to expecting the unexpected, his occupation was a YouTuber after all. Soon enough, it was time for them to go to a separate room and meet the fans face-to-face. But before they left the stage, Virgil made sure to do one thing… 

“Later guys! See you on the flippity flop!” Virgil exclaimed, and then the three exited the stage. 

When the three online personas reached the next room, a line immediately formed in front of them. They made a rule that no one could spend more than one minute talking to them or else they would be there all day. People went by quickly, most only asking for a picture, autograph, or hug. Once in a while, there would be a person that would talk for the whole minute, wanting to take advantage of the time they had. All in all, everything was going pretty great! Virgil had a great experience and-

OH SH*T. 

He almost forgot that his friends were coming to the panel. Of course they would want to meet him in person. And judging by the way Roman’s eyes always lit up while talking about Anxiety, he would bet that Roman was going to be one of those people making use of the minute he had.

Virgil discreetly put his head down right before Monica, Patton, and Roman walked up to them. But Viv noticed. Viv always notices.

Viv leaned in close to Virgil and whispered, “What’s wrong, Virge? I know you probably reached your talking to people limit for today, but we’re almost done, I promise.”

Virgil scowled, “No, that’s not it.”

Remy, who was butting in on the conversation the entire time asked, “Then what is it?”

That’s when his three friends approached them.

“Hello there! May I say it is an honor to meet you three! I’ve been a fan of you guys since the very beginning. Let me introduce ourselves. That to my right is Patton,” Patton waved as Roman introduced him, “On my left is Monica,” Monica saluted. “And I am your prince in shining armor, Roman.” He said as he bowed.

Remy and Viv looked at Virgil, whose head was still down, then back at Roman, and something clicked in their brains.

“Ohhhhhhhh. OHHHHHHHH,” They both said at the same time. “Ooooh,” They both said again, but this time in a teasing manner.

“I’m sorry, what’s happening?” Patton asked, confused.

Remy was now completely laughing as Virgil just grumbled, and Viv answered Patton’s question. “Nothing, we’re sorry for the inconvenience. We’ll give you three an extra minute.”

“SCORE!” Roman exclaimed.

Remy had finally stopped laughing to talk, “Sorry babes. I just thought of something funny.”

Virgil lifted his head, “Is my sanity a joke to you?”

There was a moment of silence before both Remy and Viv burst into laughter. Even Virgil started lightly chuckling at his own demise.

“We are extremely sorry, you three.” Virgil started. “Is there anything you wanted to talk to us about?”

“Well, first of all, I have a poster I would like all of you to sign, please,” Monica said.

“Of course!” Viv exclaimed. She locked eyes with Monica before they both quickly looked away. Virgil took note of it, but chose not to question them about it and the three of them just signed the poster.

“I also have a poster I would like you to sign, if that’s okay,” Patton said.

“Of course, gurl! That’s what we’re here for!” Remy said.

Then the three of them signed the poster. 

“Oh yeah, also, we have this nerd friend, his name is Logan. He said he thinks he dropped his phone in the room that the panel was held, so he went back to get it. But, he asked to ask you to sign this,” Roman said as he pulled out another poster. The three of them, of course, signed it.

“And last but not least, I have something I would like you to sign,” Roman stated proudly. He pulled out three tiny figures from the inside of his bag. “I made these plushies myself of you three, can you please sign them?”

“Wow that's some dedication right there,” Virgil stated.

“Of course we will!” Viv exclaimed.

“Yes! Thank you so much!” Roman squealed excitedly as the three of them signed the plushies.

“Okay, one last thing. Can we get a picture with you guys?” Monica asked.

“For sure, you guys are cool cats,” Remy said.

They took a big group selfie with all six of them.

“Oh, and one last thing before we go, I was the one who shouted that I love you in the crowd, Anxiety.”

Monica groaned, “Seriously, Roman?”

Remy smirked. “Oh? Was he now?”

“Yes, I was. I just to let you know in case we ever meet again,” Roman said.

Then, he took Virgil's hand in his and placed a tender kiss on the back of his hand.

Virgil was so glad he was wearing a mask, because he was 90% sure he was blushing. 

“Aww, that's so cute!” Both Viv and Patton exclaimed at the same time.

“I- I umm-” Virgil managed to stammer out.

“I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?” Roman asked in a caring tone.

“Nah gurl, you're cool, Anxiety just gets flustered easily. I'd know.”

“What does that mean?” Monica asked.

“Sleep and I used to date,” Virgil answered.

“AH HA! I SAID I SHIPPED IT! Wait- why aren't you still dating?” Roman asked curiously. 

“Roman, I think that's too personal of a ques-” Patton began.

“Nah, it's cool, we don't mind. And to answer your question, Anxiety has a crush on another guy.”

Virgil groaned and turned to Remy. “For the last time, I can't have a crush on someone I just met.”

“But you do though,” Viv butted in.

“Viv, you too?” Virgil asked, betrayed. “Roman, to answer your question for real, Sleep and I mutually agreed that we should stick to being friends.”

“Yeah, I guess that happened too, or whatever,” Remy said. 

A security guard standing nearby interrupted the conversation. “I’m sorry folks, but your time is up.”

“Well, it sure was fun meeting you guys!” Patton exclaimed. 

“It truly was, um, an adventure,” Virgil said.

“I hope the stars will align for us to meet again, Anxiety,” Roman said.

“See you on the flippity flop!” Monica said. Then the three of them left.

Once they were gone, Remy and Viv turned to Virgil. “Omg, he’s so cute! I totally get why you like him now!” Viv exclaimed.

“I call best man at the wedding,” Remy said.

“WOAH, WOAH, WOAH, WHAT?!” Virgil exclaimed. He took a deep breath. “Look guys, can we talk about this another day? Let’s just get through the last couple people.”

“Aww, you’re no fun!” Viv said.

\---------------------------*Time Skip*---------------------------

“Where are they?” Roman asked, annoyed.

“I’m sure they’ll both be back soon, kiddo,” Patton said hopefully.

“But I want someone who wasn’t there to brag to about how cute Anxiety was in person!” Then Roman gasped. “Virgil! You’re back!”

Patton chuckled. “His back is what? Finish your sentences, Roman.”

“Hey Princey, Patton, Monica.” Virgil said as he walked up to the three of them. “Where’s Logan?”

Patton opened his mouth to answer Virgil’s question, but Roman spoke instead. “Guess what? We spoke to Anxiety! He was so cute! I think I love him,” Roman said, his eyes sparkling. 

“Well, you love the idea of him, but you don’t know him,” Virgil said.

“What?”

“It’s called a parasocial relationship, it goes one way and it’s ultimately destructive,” Virgil continued. “So basically, you know him the way he represents himself in the media, but you don’t know him as a person.”

Monica spoke, “Loved the reference, Virge.”

“Thanks. If I get a chance to quote Bo Burnham, I will.”

Roman paused for a second to take in all the information. “Well… JUST THE MORE REASON TO GET TO KNOW HIM AND NEVER GIVE UP ON LOVE!”

“Dude, do you have like, any chill?” Virgil asked.

“NOPE!” 

“Oh, Virge, another thing. Anxiety used my phrase! He said, ‘See you on the flippity flop’!” Monica said excitedly. “See, Roman? It’ll catch on. Even Anxiety uses it.”

“Yeah, right. He only used it once. I bet he didn’t even mean-”

“Guys! What happened to Logan?” Patton interrupted. “I thought he was just getting his phone. I’m starting to get worried…” 

“I’m sure it’s just taking him a long time to find it, Pat. No need to worry,” Monica said.

“Aww, is someone worried about his crush?” Roman teased.

“Roman! You promised you wouldn’t say anything!”

“It’s okay, Pat. I certainly won’t tell anyone, and Roman’s just being an a**hole,” Virgil comforted Patton.

“Wha- hey!”

“Thanks, kiddo, but we still have no idea where Logan is,” Patton said as he looked down.

“I’m right here. No need to be disconcerted,” Logan said as he walked up to the group.

“Logan! Are you okay?!” Patton asked. 

“Yes. After I found my phone I got… distracted. By a piece of information that may or may not have come into my possession. Though I’m not entirely sure if it’s true or what to make of it if it is,” Logan said as he snuck a glance in Virgil’s direction.

“Well, you’re here now, and that’s what matters! Now I can talk to both you and Virgil about our interaction with Anxiety,” Roman started.

Virgil spaced out as Roman started excitedly discussing what happened at the panel, considering Virgil himself was there. He was still shocked he was actually able to pull this off. He actually enjoyed the events of the day and still, no one had a single clue who he was…

____________________________________________________________________________  
*BONUS SCENE*

Logan was so angry with himself. Now, he didn’t even get to meet Sleep, Viv, and Anxiety. The whole reason he and his friends were even there in the first place was for that. No matter, he gave the poster he wanted signed to Roman and he will ask them to sign it for him. Anyway, the whereabouts of his cell phone was of the utmost importance. 

Logan scanned the fold-up chairs in the room only to realize that he forgot where they previously sat. So, he went through all the rows of chairs until he found his blue and black diagonally striped phone case on the ground. Logan checked the time on his watch. He still had time to go find Roman, Patton, and Monica before they met the YouTubers. Logan grabbed his phone. He forgot about the picture on his lock screen. 

It was a picture of him, Patton, Roman, Monica, and Virgil from Friday. He had to say, Virgil was an interesting addition to their friend group. But definitely for the better. I mean, it’s not like Monica was a complete member of the friend group anyway. She’s the most popular girl in the entire school, so she hangs out with everyone, but she tends to hang out with Logan and his friends more often. 

Logan loved hanging out with the four of them. They each had such unique personalities that kept him guessing. Even though he’d only known Virgil for a week, he knew he was going to fit perfectly in their group of misfits.

Logan looked up from his lock screen and was about to turn towards the exit when something shiny on the stage caught his eye.

He walked up on the stage to get a closer look at the shiny object. It was a silver stress ball. Logan picked it up. He thought it looked vaguely familiar. Then, he saw the carabiner attached to it. The carabiner had the letter V engraved on it. Now Logan remembered. He saw that stress ball on Virgil's backpack the whole week long. 

Why was…? Wait. That could only mean one thing.

“Virgil is Anxiety?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't even know what to say here. I know most of you are probably angry about the cliffhanger, but... yeah, I don't know what else I could say right now that could make this any better... 
> 
> Sorry?


	6. Serious Dad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I don't know, man. I can't summarize this chapter in a couple of sentences... ROBOTS!!!!!!!!!! Sorry, I- Sorry. You'll understand once you read the entire chapter. Okay, Imma leave now.   
> *walks away from laptop*   
> *walks back to laptop*  
> OH RIGHT I HAVE TO POST THE CHAPTER SORRY BOUT THAT!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long!!! My school year just ended and I wanted to make sure that I worked hard on my remaining schoolwork for the past month, so I haven't had much time to write. To make it up to you guys, I put another bonus scene at the end of this chapter! This one isn't plot-related though. But I think you'll enjoy it! Okay, one more thing, the bonus scene takes place about one year ago. That's kind of important for the context. 
> 
> Okay, I'll let you go now. Happy reading!

Virgil awoke the day after vidcon to a piercing noise ringing in his ears. He jumped up out of bed to realize it was just his phone’s alarm. Was it always that loud? Eh, doesn’t matter, time to get ready. 

Virgil stretched his arms out before getting dressed for the day. Virgil looked over at Dee’s side of the room and saw that he was gone and his bed was already made. 

‘What? That never happens,’ Virgil thought to himself as he grabbed his backpack from off of the floor. 

Virgil just shrugged once more. Today was just weird, he guesses. 

He walked into the kitchen after passing Dee on the way there. He was greeted by a friendly wave from his mom who was standing by the stove. She took a wad of butter and stuck it in a pan as she turned up the heat of the burner.

“Good morning, Virgil! How are you this morning?” Ella asked.

“As good as I can be, I guess. The real question is, what’s up with Dee?” Virgil replied.

“I don’t know. You know, he actually put his dish in the sink the first time I asked him,” Ella said. “Want your egg fried or scrambled?”

“Scrambled, please.”

Just then, Rebecca walked through the door leading to the kitchen. She was dressed in a fancy black suit and yelling into her cell phone.

“What do you mean the law firm won’t cover the charges?! We’ve been working on this project for months and you’re telling me they just let you know this now?!” Rebecca shouted. Then, there was some indistinct mumbling on the other end.

Rebecca sighed. “Alright. I’ll be there in thirty. Bye.” Then she hung up.

Ella walked over to her and gave her a peck on the lips. “Morning, sunshine. Here’s your scrambled egg.” 

“Thanks, honey. There’s a problem down at the office, I’ll need to leave here in ten,” Rebecca said as she sat down and started to scarf her scrambled eggs. She stopped eating for a second. “Hey, Virge? Could you get me my keys? I think I left them in my purse.” She lifted her fork to eat once more but then stopped. “Oh, while you’re at it, could you get my purse? Totally forgot about that for a second.”

Virgil rolled his eyes. “Sure, Mama.” 

Now Ella brought her own plate of eggs to the table and sat down. “First Dee’s acting unlike himself, now you?”

“Yeah, I guess my mind’s kind of everywhere this morn- wait, what’s up with Dee?” Rebecca asked, continuing to eat.

Virgil stood up as he began to speak. “He made his bed and put away his dishes.”

“And I didn’t even have to reprimand him!” Ella exclaimed happily.

“Maybe he got a good influence,” Rebecca suggested. 

“Like Martha was?” Ella asked.

Rebecca smiled. “Yeah. Like Martha was.”

“Who’s Martha?” Virgil asked curiously.

“Oh, she was part of our friend group back in high school. She was the moral compass,” Ella explained.

“Cool, I got one of those,” Virgil said.

“Good… don’t take them for granted,” Rebecca said seriously. “Now, where’s ma purse? Chop chop!” 

Virgil rolled his eyes once more and walked into the hallway and up the stairs to his parents’ bedroom. But on the way, he ran into Dee… literally.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going!” He exclaimed.

Virgil realized he accidentally knocked a pile of books out of Dee’s hands and gasped. “I’m so sorry, Dee. Here, let me help you.”

Virgil kneeled down and started picking books and notebooks off the ground. Now, there was one notebook that Virgil picked up upside-down, and when Dee noticed which notebook it was, he tried to stop Virgil from turning it around, but he was too late.

“Virgil, wait, not that one-” He started.

Virgil turned it around and smirked. “Who’s Emile?”

“No one!” Dee exclaimed, ripping the notebook from Virgil’s hands.

“Oh really? Then why is their name written all over the front of your notebook with a bunch of hearts, hmm?”

“I totally have no idea what you’re referring to,” Dee fought, trying to win back his dignity, denying the blush he felt rising to his cheeks.

“So that’s why you’ve been acting differently,” Virgil discovered.

“No, it’s not!”

“...So who are they?” Virgil asked, smiling widely.

“None of your business!” Dee shot back.

Then Rebecca shouted from downstairs. “Virge! What’s taking you so long I have to leave in two minutes, tops!”

“Coming ma!” Virgil shouted. Then he turned back to Dee, “We’re talking about this later.” And he left to get his mama’s purse. 

Dee shuddered. “Yeah, right,” He said to no one in particular.

Eventually, after Rebecca left the house, Dee and Virgil were all ready for school, and Ella drove them. During the car ride to the school, Virgil saw that Viv had sent him a text.

Viv: Hey Virge! I was wondering if you wanted to film a video today after you’re done with school! With Remy, of course.

“Hey, Mom! Can I go to Viv’s place after school to shoot a video?” Virgil asked.

“Only if one of her parents can pick you up at the school. I have to bring Dee home, and Mama will be working late today, so she can’t bring you over either.”

“Cool, I’ll ask her.”

Virgil: Can your mom or dad pick me up at the school? My mom and mama are gonna be busy

Viv: Sure! What’s the school’s address?

Virgil: It’s 555 fake street name road

Viv: Kay, thanks! C u later!

Virgil: Yep!

“I’ve got someone picking me up,” Virgil said to his mom.

“Great! Now, make sure it’s someone you recognize. And if it’s a stranger-”

“Don’t be sucked in by the bribe of candy, I know.”

“Or anything else for that matter.”

“I’m not that stupid. I know not to take bribes from strangers even if it’s something I love-”

“Virgil, if you get into that white van across the street, I’ll get you the tarantula you’ve always wanted for your birthday.”

Virgil’s eyes lit up. “Really?!”

“No! Did you even just hear yourself or remember the conversation that we had literally just a few seconds ago? NO BRIBES!”

“...But, tarantula,” Virgil said sadly.

“Eh, we were already getting you one for your birthday. Don’t tell Mama I told you that,” Ella said.

As a response to Ella’s statement, Virgil exclaimed, “Yes!” at the same time Dee said, “NO!”

“Dee, if you let Virgil get a tarantula, I’ll get you a boa constrictor for Christmas.”

“YAY!”

Now, both boys sat smiling and content in the car, while Ella sat there smirking to herself.

“Wait, you were planning on getting me the snake anyway, weren’t you?”

“Oh well, looks like we’re at school, time for you boys to go. Bye!” 

Virgil and Dee stepped out of their mom’s minivan.

“Bye, Mom!” Both boys chorused at the vehicle as it drove away.

Both of them then turned to face the school and then looked back at each other and pointed.

“I don’t know him,” They both said unanimously. 

“Cool. So, shall we not know each other same time, same place tomorrow?” Virgil asked.

“What’s in it for me?” Dee shot back.

“Your social life.”

“True dat. So deal?”

“Gladly.”

They both shook hands and separated to go to their own sides of the building. (The middle school and high school of their school are connected, so they have the same school building, but they’re in different sectors.) 

Once Virgil reached his locker, he was bombarded by a hug from Patton.

“Morning, kiddo!” He exclaimed.

“Woah! Hey, Pat. What are you doing here so early?”

“Oh, I’m on the welcoming committee. That’s why I was picked to show you around the school on your first day! Anyway, we’re getting two new students on Friday, and I was asked to show them around! Isn’t that exciting?!”

“Yeah, that’s great,” Virgil replied half-heartedly.

“What’s wrong, kiddo?”

“Nothing, it’s stupid,” Virgil started to turn away when Patton grabbed his shoulders and looked him in the eyes.

“No feelings are stupid feelings,” Patton said seriously.

Virgil sighed and responded, “Will… will they replace me?”

Patton enveloped Virgil into another hug. “Virgil. Of course not. You’ll always be with us, no matter who else comes along. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Now, do you want to stop by Logan and Roman’s lockers to see if they’re here yet?” 

“Sure. What about Monica?”

“Monica’s always busy in the mornings. And afternoons. She runs way too many clubs. So, who first? Roman or Logan?”

“Let’s head over to Logan.”

“Sure,” Patton said. Then he smiled excitedly and looked like he was going to burst from excitement.

“Whatever it is, just say it-”

“CAN WE LINK ARMS LIKE IN THE WIZARD OF OZ?!” 

Virgil snorted, “Okay, Dorothy.”

Patton held his arm out to Virgil. “No. You’re Dorothy.”

Virgil smiled and linked his arm with Patton’s.

Patton smiled and started to skip and sing. “OHHHHHHH, WE’RE OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD-”

“Don’t push your luck,” Virgil interrupted. 

“Okay!” Patton responded cheerfully as they continued to walk down the hallway.

First, the two picked up Logan who, begrudgingly, agreed to link arms with Virgil as they continued walking. Then, when they picked up Roman, he did just what you would expect. He started belting out the song, linked arms with Logan, and started skipping. Patton happily joined in and then Virgil eventually caved. He didn’t sing, but he started skipping. Logan had to start speed walking in order for himself to stay in line with the rest of them without needing to make a fool of himself by skipping. But soon, he just couldn’t keep up anymore and tried to leave the chain. The others wouldn’t let him, however, so instead of skipping, he just let himself be dragged across the floor by the three of them. It was easy for them considering Logan was the shortest of all of them. (I’m sorry but I stan short Logan and you can’t change my mind XD) They made it pretty far before getting caught by a teacher. 

When Roman saw her, he just smiled. “Good morning, Miss Martin! How are you on this fine day?”

“I’ll be fine, once you make sure that you keep the singing and skipping out of the hallway and into the theater,” She replied.

“Will do!” Roman said and then paused. “You’re still not gonna give me even the slightest hint of what the fall musical is?”

“Not a chance,” She responded quickly. Then she turned to the other three. “Are any of you three going to try out for the fall musical?”

“These frivolous displays are not really my forte,” Logan remarked.

“I might. I’m okay at singing but not very good at acting,” Patton said.

Then they all turned to Virgil. “Me?! No, I cannot sing.”

“Well, let us be the judge of that,” Roman replied.

Virgil mentally facepalmed. Why’d he have to say singing? “Um… no.” Great comeback, Virgil.

“Whatever you say Dr. Doom and Gloom,” Roman responded.

“Hey, I’m trying. Did you not just see me skipping a second ago?”

“Now kiddos, let’s not fight.”

“I do not believe they were fighting, Patton. It was only a minor disagreement.”

The theatre teacher, Miss Martin, started laughing. “You guys are a riot.” She paused. “The musical. Think about it. All four of you.” Then she walked away.

“Beauty and the Beast?” Roman called after her.

"Not telling you!" She shouted back without even turning around. 

"Curses! She's good."

"Why? All she did was ignore you," Virgil stated like it was obvious. 

"Yes, but who could ever resist my puppy dog eyes?"

Virgil stepped up to Roman and looked in his face as if he was studying it. 

"I guess you're right." Virgil ruffled Roman's hair and bopped his nose. "You're adorable," He ended mockingly towards Roman and turned away from him just as the bell rang. He started walking in the other direction. "Come on, Lo. We've got Geometry."

Logan hesitated for a moment before speaking. He pointed towards Virgil. “I’m going to-”

“Yeah, go ahead,” Patton interrupted. 

And Logan walked away with Virgil.

Roman just looked in amusement at Virgil as Virgil walked away.

Patton noticed this and smirked. “So, you like Virgil or what?”

Roman whipped his head around quickly to look at Patton. Roman decided to choose his next words carefully. “WHAT?!”

“You like like Virgil, right?” Patton asked once more, excitedly.

“No! I mean, I guess he’s cute, but- wait no! My heart will always long for Anxiety.”

“Listen, Ro. In the next 30 seconds, I’m going into serious dad mode. You have to listen very carefully to what I’m going to say.”

“Serious dad mode? No, last time that happened you broke a vase from your house. On purpose.”

“Well, Logan’s not here this time, is he?”

“Yeah, fair point.”

“Serious dad, ACTIVATE!”

“Is that a Steven Universe reference?”

“Yeah! My little sister showed me the show just a couple of weeks ago and I’m already obsessed with it. Anyway…” Patton cleared his throat and deepened his voice. “Roman, I want you to think about what you really want here.”

“Whoa, I forgot how creepy and cool it is when you do that. I now understand why Logan freaked out last time.”

“I understand that you’ve had a crush on Anxiety for a long time now.”

Roman gasped offendedly, “It’s not a crush! It’s true love.”

“But I think if you really think you have feelings for Virgil, you should go for it, kiddo.”

“Why?” Roman asked suddenly.

“Why what, kiddo?”

“Why haven’t I been able to date anyone just because my heart is set on Anxiety? Like, I am literally the romance guy! I’m the person people can go to about relationships. But I’m just as hopeless as anyone else.”

“Well, maybe it’s because you don't want to grow up.”

Roman looked at Patton with confusion. “What does that have to do with anything?” 

“Think about it, kiddo. Anxiety sort of… represents your childhood in a way. You’ve been a fan of him ever since his very first video, correct?”

“Yeah. I stumbled across his channel, heard his beautiful voice, and subscribed in a heartbeat. I was his first subscriber, Pat.”

“Aw, Ro. Anxiety has been a constant in your life since you were ten years old. Now you’re fourteen. Am I wrong to assume that you don’t want to grow up?” 

“I guess you’re right. Things were so much easier, simpler, and better then. At that time I wasn't always insecure about myself. I know I act all confident and cocky now, but on the inside, I’m scared. I’m scared of what the future will bring. I’m scared of what others say about me. I’m scared of anything and everything that could happen.”

“And Anxiety helps you remember the goodness and purity of being ten years old.”

“Exactly! You just helped me to take my fears and put them into words!” Roman paused. “So now what?”

“Realize that it’s just another fear. You’re going to grow up no matter what. Getting over this now will help you be prepared for the future."

"You know, that's a great way to look at it, Patton. Thanks."

Patton suddenly shook his head vigorously and his voice went back to normal. “You’re welcome, kiddo!”

“Now let’s get to class since we’re already like five minutes late,” Roman said as he started speed walking to the right.

“Roman, we have literature first period.” 

“I knew that!” Roman exclaimed, speed walking in the other direction.

Patton rolled his eyes fondly and followed him.

Meanwhile, Virgil was having a pretty okay day. So far, geometry was going well. He was understanding the material better than most of the class so that was a bonus. The only weird thing that happened was before class when Logan stood by Virgil’s desk asking him to sign his name on a sheet of paper. Logan said that it was for “research”. Whatever that meant. 

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful until the last period of the day. Virgil had science class with Patton, Logan, Roman, and Monica. Mx. Stokes assigned a group project in teams of two or three. 

“I CALL LOGAN AND MONICA!” Patton called out.

“I love your enthusiasm, Patton, but try to keep your voice down,” Mx. Stokes said.

“What? Pat, I wanted the nerd in my group!” Roman complained. “Now I’m stuck with homeschool over here.”

“Yes, that was my plan. Hehehehe,” Patton said, grinning ear to ear.

“Homeschool? Really, Princey? You call that creative?”

“Listen, this is science class. It’s not the fun wordsy class,” Roman spat back.

“Don’t you mean vocabulary class?” Logan asked.

“Did I say fun?” Roman asked back.

“Yes,” Logan replied.

“Then no.”

Soon, everyone picked their groups and started discussing where they would meet to work on them.

“So, your house or mine?” Roman asked.

“We could do mine, I guess. How about tomorrow?” Virgil asked.

“Why not today?”

“Well, Princey, some people have lives outside of school.”

“You mean you?”

“Yes, actually. I have friends outside of school.”

Roman laughed. 

“What’s so funny? Care to enlighten me?”

“Oh. So you’re serious. What are their names?”

Great job, Virgil. Now what? “Um… no.”

“No? What do you mean n-?”

“Hey, let’s check up on Lo, Pat, and Monica!” Virgil interrupted. Phew, close call.

Roman and Virgil stood up and walked over to the desks that the other three sat at.

“My father won’t allow me to have company over unless he is home, and he is on a business trip for the next week,” Logan explained.

“Sorry, guys, we can’t meet at my house either. My older brother has Autism and he gets overwhelmed when too many people are in our house.”

“I’m sorry, Monica, we didn’t know,” Patton apologized. 

“It’s fine. I don’t normally tell anyone about it.”

“So what are we going to do?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Come to Virgil’s house with us tomorrow!” Roman butted in.

“Sorry, I have to watch my little sister tomorrow,” Patton replied.

“Wait, Pat. How old is your sister?” Virgil asked.

“She’s eleven and in sixth grade.”

“Well, there you have it. My little brother is in sixth grade too! You can bring your sister over for a playdate with my brother. They probably already know each other,” Virgil said.

“Great! That works for me!” Patton exclaimed. “How ‘bout the rest of you?”

They all nodded.

“Cool. You all already know my address since I texted it in the group chat last week.”

“Thanks for doing this, Virge!” Monica said gratefully.

“No prob, Mon- ica. Sorry, I wanted it to rhyme, that was stupid,” Virgil said, chuckling.

“Nah, it was cute,” Monica responded as she elbowed Virgil.

Then the bell rang.

“Gotta bounce, guys. See you tomorrow!” Virgil exclaimed.

“Actually, Virgil, can I walk out of school with you? I have something I would like to talk with you about,” Logan requested.

Virgil looked confused. “Yeah… I guess.”

“Excellent. Do the three of you mind not following? This is a rather private matter.”

The three of them nodded, still confused as to why Logan wanted to talk with Virgil alone.

Virgil and Logan walked out into the hallway together and first stopped at both of their lockers to pick up their things. Once they did that, Logan made sure they were out of earshot of any of the other students.

“So… what did you want to talk with me about?” Virgil asked casually.

“Virgil, I’m going to tell you something that might freak you out, but I urge you not to panic.”

“Lo, you’re kind of scaring me here,” Virgil said and chuckled nervously.

Logan sighed. “Virgil… I know that you’re Anxiety.”

_______________________*BONUS SCENE*________________________

[(IN CASE YOU DIDN'T READ MY NOTE AT THE BEGINNING, THIS TAKES PLACE ABOUT A YEAR AGO.)]

Monica rushed into Patton’s house to find Patton, Logan, and Roman sitting in Patton’s living room. Monica walked over to them and slumped into the leather armchair next to the couch.

“Thanks for inviting me, Pat.”

“Well, you did text me, ‘EMERGENCY! I NEED TO TALK TO YOU ASAP’.”

“Are you okay, Monica?” Roman asked, concerned.

“Yeah, everything was fine… up until I MESSED EVERYTHING UP!” Monica exclaimed angrily.

“Why? What happened?” Patton asked.

“Well, you know how for the past two weeks I’ve been hanging out with the b*tch clique, right?”

“Charlotte, Lindsay, and Brittany?” Roman questioned.

“Yep,” Monica responded.

“I’ve always hated Brittany,” Roman said. “Continue with your story, Monica.”

“Thanks, Ro. Anyway, we were walking in the park, when out of nowhere, Charlotte dared me to kiss this random girl.”

“Ooh, this is getting good,” Roman commented. “What happened next?”

“Well, I said I was straight, and I didn’t feel comfortable with it. Then she called me chicken. And nobody calls me chicken. So I was all like, ‘I AINT NO CHICKEN!’”

“And you kissed the girl?” Patton guessed.

“I kissed the girl,” Monica said proudly.

“Was she upset?” Roman asked.

“Hmm, I couldn’t really tell, I was too busy running away afterward.”

“So, what’s the problem here?” Patton asked.

“The problem is that I liked it. The kiss. But all my life I’ve been convinced that I’m straight.”

“Well, you’ve come to the right place! Meet the gays! Hi, I’m Roman! Your friendly neighborhood bisexual! And this is Patton! He’s gay! And this is Logan! Logan is…” Roman paused. Then he whispered to Logan, “Logan what are you?”

Logan answered without looking up from his book, “I’m panromantic demisexual-” 

“He’s panromantic demisexual!” Roman interrupted.

“Thank you for the support guys,” Monica said.

“Monica, to help you, I’m going to do something that I rarely do,” Patton told her.

“No… Patton NO!” Roman exclaimed.

“Patton yes!” Patton said back.

Monica whispered to Logan, “Do you know what they’re talking about?”

“No clue,” Logan whispered back, flipping over the next page of his book.

“Monica, I’m going to go into serious dad mode for the next minute or so,” Patton explained.

“Okay, should I be scared?” Monica asked.

Patton cleared his throat and suddenly his voice became deeper. “Not at all, Monica.”

Only at this did Logan put his book down.

“What the… fu-” Monica started.

“I am aware that you are questioning your sexuality. You should know that we will support you no matter what. But I know that even though labels aren’t needed, people use them because labels make people feel like they belong somewhere, like they are not… lost. You might be feeling like that right now.”

“Whoa, Patton, you’re so deep,” Monica said in amazement.

“What’s going on? Is there something wrong with Patton?” Logan asked.

“No, no, Logan. He’s just helping in a way he best sees fit,” Roman tried to explain.

“But why did his voice change like that? Are you sure he’s okay?” Logan continued.

But Patton kept talking to Monica. “Have you ever kissed a boy before?”

“No. The longest I’ve dated a boy is two weeks, and every time he would want to kiss me, I just didn’t feel it, you know? I would put it off, only to dump him a couple days later because I didn’t want to kiss him. It… didn’t even feel right to date him. Whoa…” 

“Have you felt this way about all of the boys you’ve dated?” Patton questioned.

“It was only three. But now that I think about it, yes. Yes, I have,” Monica paused to think. “Does this make me gay?”

Patton stopped to think. “It could. But your feelings do have the ability to change. How do you feel as of now?” 

“I think right now… that I’m gay,” Monica said with a smile on her face.

“That’s great, Monica! Now, remember, if your feelings ever change, make sure to let us know, okay?”

“Yeah, Pat. I will.”

At this point, Logan couldn’t keep his opinions in any longer. “PATTON IS BEING POSSESSED BY ROBOTS, HE IS THE FIRST VESSEL, AND THEY ARE TAKING OVER! I READ THIS IN AN ARTICLE ONCE, OH GOODNESS, WHY’D IT HAVE TO BE PATTON-”

Patton cleared his throat once more and his voice went back to normal. “Logan, relax, I’m fine!”

“SEE HOW HIS VOICE FLUCTUATED THAT EASILY?! THE ROBOTS CONTROLLING HIM ARE TRYING TO CONVINCE US THAT THERE ARE NO ROBOTS CONTROLLING HIM!”

“Logan, Patton is not being controlled by robots,” Roman said, annoyed.

“THAT’S WHAT THEY WANT YOU TO BELIEVE!”

“Hey, Logan! If I was a robot would I do this?” 

Patton grabbed a vase sitting on the coffee table next to him, dumped the flowers out of it, and smashed the vase onto the ground. He slapped his right hand over his mouth in disbelief of what he just did. The others appeared shocked as well.

“I'm gonna be in so much trouble!” Patton exclaimed.

“...We’ll help you clean it up,” Roman offered.

As the four of them were carefully sweeping up the shards of glass, Logan spoke. “Hey, Patton?”

“Yes, Logan?”

“To answer your question, yes, a robot would probably do that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, that's it! Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed!


	7. Secrets Are No Fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan confronts Virgil about him being Anxiety. Cue angst.
> 
> Also, a video is filmed.... so yeah.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TWs:   
> -Angst  
> -Panic Attack (Not too much description)  
> -Talk of divorce

“Virgil… I know that you’re Anxiety.”

“W-what? No, I’m not Anxiety! You’ve got the wrong dude, dude!” Virgil tried to convince Logan.

“Ah, see I knew you’d try to deny it, so I have proof.” Logan unlocked his phone to show a picture of the poster that Virgil had signed during vidcon at the same time as he held up the piece of paper Virgil signed during geometry.

“So that’s why you-”

“Same handwriting. Also, I believe this is yours,” Logan said as he held up the stress ball. “I found it on the stage at vidcon.”

Virgil swiped the stress ball from Logan and stuffed it into his backpack. Then, he continued to speak to Logan. “So, let me make sure I understand you. You went out of your way to deceive me for information about my personal life?!”

“I mean, deceive is a strong word, but yes, that is mostly accurate.”

“You know, normally, I would be having a panic attack right now, but the blinding rage I feel kind of outweighs the anxiety.”

“Blinding rage? I don’t think you understand. I only wanted this information so I could help you-”

“No, you don’t understand. Put yourself in my shoes.”

“How? We clearly have different shoe sizes.”

“Figuratively, Logan. FIGURATIVELY!”

“Okay.”

“Imagine that you have been an outcast your entire life. Then eventually, you find a friend group that likes you for you. Would you want them to treat you any differently because of your alter ego?” 

“I’m sorry, Virgil, but I still do not quite understand. People would treat you with the respect you deserve.”

“But the respect wouldn’t be given to me, it would be given to Anxiety!” Virgil then paused for dramatic effect. “And I don’t like you sticking your nose in my business! Don’t you get that you’ve crossed the line here?!”

“What do you- how?” 

“You used my signature for ‘evidence’. You basically took my trust, lit it on fire, stuck it in a trash can, somehow lit the trash can on fire, placed the flaming trash can on a plane, and chucked it out of the plane 33,000 feet in the air.”

“Wow, that certainly was… a visual.”

“Why do you think that it was okay that you did that?!”

Logan didn’t respond.

“That’s what I thought. Well, I hope that you have enough respect for me to not tell the others.”

Virgil turned and walked away. 

“Virgil, wait…” 

Virgil stopped but he didn’t turn back to face Logan. His breath hitched as he waited for Logan to continue. His tough-guy facade was going to break any second. 

“I understand why you want this… and I promise I won’t say anything about this to anyone else.”

Virgil hesitated. He didn’t know what to say to Logan. He ended up saying, “Thanks.” Then he kept walking away.

“And I’m sorry.”

This surprised Virgil. He stopped once more, slightly gazing back at where Logan was. He wanted to make up and to tell Logan that it was okay… but it wasn’t okay. What Logan did wasn’t okay. And as much as Virgil hated conflict, he didn’t want to excuse Logan that easily.

He decided on walking away without speaking. He wanted to better compose himself before saying something he would regret.

Once Virgil knew he was out of sight from Logan, he started sprinting away. When he reached the school parking lot, he scanned it for Viv’s dad’s car. He found the car, walked over to it, and knocked on the driver’s window. The man in the front seat rolled down the window so he could talk to Virgil. 

“Virgil! How are you, my boy?” Viv’s dad remarked.

“Da-ad! You promised you wouldn’t embarrass me!” Viv accused from the passenger seat.

“What, so I can’t even speak to him?” Viv’s dad asked her. Then he addressed Virgil again. “Please excuse her, Virgil. She’s just a little grumpy today. Why don’t you take a seat in the back?”

Virgil just nodded numbly before following the man’s instructions. He reached his seatbelt when something happened.

He snapped. 

“Do you have your seatbelt on, Virg-”

“I’m too weak!” Virgil exclaimed as he broke down.

Tears started rolling down his face as he curled in on himself. He couldn’t breathe and it felt like the entire world was crashing down on him. 

Next thing Virgil knew, Viv was in the seat next to him. She was saying something, but he couldn’t quite make it out. Everything was getting dizzy and sounds were becoming muffled. 

Virgil tried to remember the grounding exercises his therapist taught him. 

Five things he could see. His trembling hands (not a good sign), the window, the seatbelt, Viv, and the back of her dad’s seat. Okay, things started getting clearer. He could make out most of what Viv was saying. 

He went through the rest of the exercise and soon after realized that his breathing was almost back to normal. He then started to tune in on what Viv was saying.

“-hear me? Did you just do a grounding exercise?”

Virgil opened his mouth to speak.

“No. You don’t have to talk yet. Just nod or shake your head.”

Virgil took a deep breath and nodded.

“That’s good. Okay, after you feel better, would it make you more at ease if you explained what happened to us?"

Virgil thought about that for a second. He supposed that expressing his feelings out loud could help with his current situation. So, he nodded.

"Okay. One last question."

Virgil looked up at Viv expectantly.

"May I hug you?" She asked.

Virgil started crying again, but with happy tears. He nodded again, wrapping his arms around Viv. Viv was shocked at first by Virgil's sudden, out of character response, but was quick to return the action. 

"Thanks, Viv," Virgil said as he pulled away from the embrace.

"You're going to be okay, right?”

“Yeah. I think so.” 

Virgil then went on to explain what happened with Logan as Viv’s dad drove to their destination. Viv and her dad made helpful input to his story as he progressed his explanation. 

Soon enough, after Virgil finished his explanation, their car pulled up into a driveway. But it wasn’t Viv’s driveway. 

Uh-oh. It was-

“What is up, insomnisquad?! It’s ya gurl, Sleep, coming at you from my driveway!” Remy said to his vlogging camera, walking down his driveway.

“Viv, what are we doing here? And Remy, why do you have your vlogging camera?”

“Hey, Anx! Also, please don’t say my name, gurl. I’m gonna have to censor that now. But….” Remy turned back to his camera. “My name will be revealed by the end of this video!”

“No way! You’re doing a name reveal?” Viv asked.

“Good for you, Remy!” Virgil said, putting emphasis on his name.

“You’re doing that to spite me, aren’t you?”

“Hey, I mean, your video, your editing,” Virgil responded with a smirk.

“Well, I can decide not to blur your face then,” Remy teased.

“Dude, I swear, do not joke about that,” Viv said seriously.

“Why? What happened? Who do I need to kill?” Remy asked.

“Sleep, stop. It’s not that bad.”

Remy walked over, closer to the car and said, “Virgil. I know you and I know something’s wrong. Please, let me help you.”

There was a comfortable silence for a while and Remy and Virgil just smiled at each other.

Then Viv ruined it by, completely sincerely saying, “Aww, you have feelings!”

Remy glared at Viv.

“Vivian Martina Jackson!” Viv’s dad exclaimed. 

Remy laughed. “Vivian?”

“What’d you think Viv was short for, jack*ss?” Viv asked.

“No swearing!” Viv’s dad reprimanded.

“Hehehe, she called you a jack*ss,” Virgil told Remy.

“Why do I bother?” Viv’s dad said, looking up.

Then Virgil spoke to Remy. “By the way, thanks, dude. Also, now you have to censor my name from when you addressed me. And Viv’s last name.”

“Yes, I am aware, thank you, Anxiety.”

“No problem. So, where to?”

“The mall!” Viv exclaimed.

“Why would you do that to us?” Virgil asked.

“Speak for yourself, gurl,” Remy told Virgil. “I’m gonna get myself a new pair of shades!”

“Of course you are,” Viv said. Then she turned to her dad. “Dad, to the mall!”

“Is that how you address your father?”

Viv groaned. “Please?”

Viv’s dad smiled and kissed her on the forehead. “Of course, honeybuns.”

Viv whipped her head around to face Remy. “You will edit that out!”

Remy snorted. “Not a chance.”

And so they were on their way to the mall. The ride was only about eight minutes so they made small talk. Once they arrived, Viv’s father dropped the three of them off.

They walked all around the mall. At first, they were having fun evading the mall’s security guards. Eventually they decided to actually go into stores. They didn’t want to take too much time, so they decided to each choose one. First they went to Hot Topic because that was Viv’s choice. Then they went to Sears because it was Remy’s choice but they left without purchasing anything because none of the sunglasses there were “his style”. Finally, they went to-

“Really? Pretzels? We’re going to eat after this and you want pretzels?” Viv asked, annoyed.

“Yep! I don’t know stores, so we’re going to get pretzels!”

“Really? You don’t even want to-” Remy started.

“Nope!”

“Not even the-” Viv tried.

“Nope! Pretzels!”

Viv and Remy groaned and the three of them walked over to a non-brand pretzel shop at the mall. They ordered their food and ate it before moving on. 

“So, where to next?” Remy asked.

“Oh, can we go to Target?” 

“Why, so you can buy some summer clothes?” Virgil asked, annoyed.

“Well, I guess I can while I’m there but that’s not the reason. I’m on my period next week and I need tampons.”

Remy and Virgil’s faces flushed. “Um, sure, Viv,” Virgil responded.

“Guys, this is a normal human thing, stop acting weird about it,” Viv said as she brushed past them.

“What? Gurl, we’re not being weird.” 

“FIne,” Viv said as she stopped at the front of Target. “Then you guys don’t mind if you pick out and buy my tampons while I go try on some clothes? You know, to save some time.”

“B-but we don’t even know what kind-” Virgil spluttered.

“I don’t care what brand, just make sure to get regular, not jumbo,” Viv said, and she entered Target.

Virgil turned to face Remy. “This is your fault!” Virgil spat.

Then the two of them entered Target and walked over to the female hygiene section. 

"How'd we get ourselves into this situation?"

"I don't know but whatever happens, I have a feeling that this is going to make a great video. Hmm, maybe I'll show my intro first, us evading the mall cops next, do a montage of all of the other stores after that, then I'll feature our time at this store."

"Wha- why?! This is humiliating." Virgil stopped to look at the shelves. "Why are there so many?! What are they even supposed to look like?"

"Over here, gurl. I think these are it," Remy said from down the aisle. Then he picked up one of the packs of tampons. "It says regular on it. You carry it," And he tossed it to Virgil.

Virgil caught it and immediately dropped it. "Me? Why me?"

"Well I found them."

Virgil sighed. "Fine." Then he bent down to pick them up. "There better not be any fans approaching you from now until the time we get to the register."

"Virge, trust me. There won't be."

But as the two of them started walking toward the register, Virgil heard a familiar voice.

"Oh no."

"What's up, dude?"

The familiar voice spoke, "Never mind. It's tear-able!"

Virgil's eyes widened. "It is him. Remy… we have to run."

Virgil heard them approaching the aisle he and Remy were in.

Virgil shook his head. "There's no time for me. Remy, run. My friends from school… they're here."

"Okay. I'll meet you at the register." And Remy ran off.

"WAIT! REMY, TAKE THE TAMPONS!"

"Patton, please discontinue your usage of puns."

"Why? Everyone tells me how punny they are."

"Did… did you just make a pun about puns?"

"Yep!" Then Patton looked towards Virgil. "Virgil! I'm so glad to see you. Omg, I'm so sorry we didn't invite you! Roman told me that you were busy with friends."

"It's fine, I am. With friends, I mean."

"Oh, where are they? Any friends of yours are friends of ours!"

Virgil thought carefully about what he was about to say. "Um, they died." 

...Or that.

"Sorry, what? Did we hear you correctly?" Roman asked.

"I meant that they're on completely different floors of the mall. You can't meet them right now. Sorry."

"That's alright, kiddo."

Virgil then just stood there awkwardly, awaiting the inevitable question about the product in his hands.

Roman was the first to speak up about it. He gestured to the item. "Um, is there something you would like to tell us, Virgil?"

Patton jumped in. "If there is, you don't have to be afraid to tell us. We are a very accepting community."

Virgil gestured to the product. "This? No, this is for one of my friends."

"Oooooh, Virgil, you're friends with a girl?" Roman teased.

"Well, it's not like that though. I’m gay,” Virgil said as he slapped a hand across his mouth.

“Really? Me too!” Patton exclaimed excitedly.

“And I’m your friendly neighborhood bisexual!” Then he gestured towards Logan. “And Logan is- Logan, what are you again?”

Logan sighed. “Roman, for the last time, I am panromantic demisexual-”

“He is panromantic demisexual!” Roman interrupted.

“Deja vu much?” Patton mumbled, seemingly for that not to be heard by the others and only to be read by the audience for them to remember the events of last chapter.

Then Virgil overheard a voice that was whispering from the other side of the aisle. “Notice how he’s completely embarrassing himself.” The voice said.

“One second, guys, I think something on the shelf is out of place here. Let me just-” Virgil then kicked the metal shelf where he heard the voice coming from.

There was then a shout of pain coming from the other side of the aisle.

“Was that-?” Roman started.

“I DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE REFERRING TO!” Virgil quickly interrupted. “GOTTA GO, BYE!”

Before Virgil could leave, however, Logan grabbed his wrist. 

"Virgil, I wanted to make sure you knew that I truly am sorry." 

"I know you are. I'm just not ready to forgive you yet."

Patton stepped in. "Kiddos? What's going on? Are you… fighting?" 

"Yes, Pat, but it's fine. We'll resolve it eventually."

"Yes. It seems that I have taken advantage of my friendship with Virgil without meaning to."

"Okay? But Logan apologized so…" Roman explained, confused.

"You don't get it, do you? If I forgive Logan this quickly for something this big, it'll make it easier for me to let others walk all over me for smaller things in the future."

"Logan, what did you do?" Patton asked.

Logan responded to Patton with, "If I were to bestow this information upon you, my friendship with Virgil would evolve even more into shambles."

"Logan, it's not currently in shambles, I just need time to think." 

"This must be pretty serious… isn't it?" Roman asked.

"Well, we'll leave you two to it then! Come on Ro, let's find Monica."

"Pat… I said I needed time."

"Kiddo, I believe that whatever Logan did, he had a good reason for doing so." 

Then Patton and Roman left to go find Monica. 

"So… do you have a good reason-"

"For as long as I can remember I've been afraid of secrets."

"What?"

"It's not just that I don't like secrets, I have an actual, overwhelming fear of them. It started with me just not liking secrets because of Roman and Patton. Patton would always start stuttering when talking with me and then Roman would pull him aside and start whispering. I hated the whispering more than anything else. But soon, about a year ago actually, I realized the burden of keeping a secret as well. My parents got divorced and I couldn't tell anyone anything about it. But it was fine. I was fine. I had to be."

"Logan, I had no idea."

"I did not expect you to. Not even Roman, Patton, or Monica know. Once in a while, Patton will ask me how "America's favorite couple" is doing. He is referring to my parents in that case. I always make up stories about them. Things I've dreamt about being true but, alas, they aren't. All of my friends think that my parents are one of the closest romantic relationships they've ever seen. I used to believe that. But… but it was all an act. Not only did I have to keep the secret of their divorce from everyone, but they also hid the secret of why they got divorced from me. My father… he had an affair with another woman. And my mother wanted to keep this from me so I didn’t lose my respect for my father. But if he’s the one who cheated my mother, then he didn’t deserve my respect.”

A single tear rolled down Logan’s face.

“W-what is this?” 

“Lo, it’s a tear. You’re crying.”

“No. I can’t cry. I can’t.”

“Logan, it’s a normal human thing to cry. You need to cry.”

“No. If I do that makes me weak.”

“You’re wrong. If you cry, that makes you strong. It means you’re admitting that something’s wrong, and you want to fix it. It takes true bravery and courage to do that.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I thought I would be weak if I forgave you. But forgiving you makes me strong. It means that I have realized that what you did was a mistake, admitted that I’ve made mistakes of my own, and made peace between us.”

“So it’s okay if I were to cry?”

“Of course, Logan.”

So Logan continued to cry, covering his face with his hands. 

“My parents’ romantic relationship was the strongest I had ever seen. I believed in their love so much. Now, I don't have any hope for my own love in the future. If two people love each other, just as my parents did, how can such a strong bond diminish so easily?"

"I don't know, Logan. But that won't happen to you just because it happened to your parents."

"I suppose you're right. My emotions just don't seem to agree with you at the moment."

"Of course. Emotions are the least sensible thing."

Logan wiped at his eyes. "You are quite smart and wise for being homeschooled all your life."

"What can I say? Homeschoolers being incompetent is a stupid stereotype."

"Truer words have never been spoken," Remy said, approaching the two. "Sup, friend of Virgil. I'm assuming that you know his identity?"

"Yes I do. And it is a pleasure to meet you, Sleep."

"Flattery won't getcha nowhere, kid, but I appreciate the compliment." 

"Do you forgive me, Virgil?"

"Of course I do, Logan."

"Great, you guys made up. Now, Logan, you go find your friends and we'll find Viv."

"Sounds like a plan. Goodbye Virgil and Sleep."

"It's Remy," Remy said. 

"Is that going to count as your name reveal?" Virgil asked.

"Yeah," Remy responded. 

"Well, I must be off, but it was nice to meet you, Remy."

"You too, I guess. Also, just so you know I'm definitely gonna blur your face and censor your name, Logan."

"Thank you. Goodbye," Logan said as he left to go find Patton and Roman who were looking for Monica. 

"Bye, Logan!"

After that, Virgil and Remy bought the tampons and met with Viv at the front of the store.

"There you two are! I just called my dad and he's coming to pick us up. Did you do your name reveal yet?" 

"Yep!"

"By the way, I was wondering, why did you do that now, Remy?" Virgil asked.

"Oh." Remy turned toward Viv. "Should I tell him?"

"Tell me what?" Virgil asked, confused.

Viv nodded at Remy.

"Virgil… we're going to your school starting on Friday!" Remy exclaimed.

"WHAT?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the fourth wall, huh? Pretty nonexistent these days, am I right? 
> 
> (That's right I'm calling myself out)

**Author's Note:**

> I'm also horrible at writing tags. Tell me if there's anything I should add. Thanks and I hope you enjoyed!


End file.
